While migration is on the rise in a globalising world, it is not always a seamless process. Displacement, moving to establish a better life, or exile of any sort has been an expression of an individual’s will to overcome adversity and to live a better life throughout human history.
On this day in 1990, the General Assembly adopted a resolution on the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families. Each year on Dec 18, the United Nations uses International Migrants Day to highlight contributions made by the roughly 272 million migrants, including more than 41 million internally displaced persons (IDPs) and the challenges they face.
This global event examines a wide range of migration themes and reinforces the principle that humane and orderly migration benefits migrants and society.
This new era has created challenges and opportunities for societies throughout the world. It also has served to underscore the clear linkage between migration and development, as well as the opportunities it provides for co-development, that is, the concerted improvement of economic and social conditions at both origin and destination.
From 2016, this day has also served as the final event of IOM’s three-week-long Global Migration Film Festival (GMFF). Today, it will feature more than 620 screenings of migration-themed movies and panel discussions about the year’s theme, “Social Cohesion”, in 107 countries around the world.
The United Nations is actively playing a catalyst role in this area, with the aim of creating more dialogues and interactions within countries and regions, as well as propelling experience exchange and collaboration opportunities.
Adapted from United Nations
